Manufactured homes are an essential source of affordable housing in New England. However, residents in many of these communities own the homes themselves but not the land underneath them, making them vulnerable to unaffordable rent-hikes, mismanagement, and deteriorating infrastructure. To make matters worse, manufactured home communities have increasingly been targeted by investors and private equity firms who seek to purchase the parks for a profit, threatening the security of working families and seniors who call these communities home.
New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) helps manufactured homeowners cooperatively purchase and democratically manage their communities, preserving the quality and affordability of homes in our region.
Since the start of the program in 2009, NEROC has helped residents at 59 manufactured-home communities across New England purchase their communities, representing 5,800 individual homes that are now permanently affordable and more than $267 million in financing.
NEROC also helps residents advocate on both state and national levels. NEROC’s advocacy support helped to pass “Opportunity to Purchase” laws in Maine and Connecticut, making it easier for owners of manufactured-home communities to sell their parks directly to residents. NEROC also helped to pass a FY2023 spending bill that included the creation of the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program. The $225M federal grant program provides funding to revitalize manufactured-home communities.
We assist owners with their exit strategies at no cost to you and help residents purchase and successfully manage their own communities.
If you’re interested in selling your park, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more. You’ll walk away with a great price and leave behind a legacy of locally-controlled, permanently-affordable, and high-quality housing!
The NEROC team is made up of experienced advisors and technical assistants who can help residents:
· Organize to form a cooperative business
· Navigate the process of purchasing your community, including securing financing
· Learn how to run your community democratically
· Find funding sources for infrastructure improvements
If you’re a resident of a manufactured-home community that has already made the transition to resident ownership and you are seeking help finding funding sources for water or wastewater infrastructure projects, CDI’s Water Infrastructure Support Program (WISP) can help. Click the button below to learn more about this new program.
Co-director of NEROC
Email: jcurry@cdi.coop
Before joining CDI, Julia worked for over a decade as a cooperative specialist with multi-family affordable housing cooperatives in Burlington, VT. She came to the realm of cooperatives with a background as an organizer in union, interfaith, and community organizing contexts. She has also served on the board of City Market/Onion River Cooperative since 2011, including two years as board president, leading the board through the co-op’s process of building a second store. Julia earned an M.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University with a focus on social movements. She loves helping people grow and connect by working together.
Co-director of NEROC
Email: pschwebler@cdi.coop
Pat’s background is in real estate, finance, nonprofits, and business management. Working as a realtor in an urban setting, Pat developed an educational first-time homebuyer program and helped over 50 new Americans secure their first home. She served as co-chair of a nonprofit that provided emergency shelter to victims of domestic violence. Before joining CDI she was executive director of a senior center and worked to improve community conditions for the elderly. She helped create a free medical equipment loan closet in Kennebunk, Maine and served on Kennebunk’s Committee on Aging. Pat obtained her B.A. in Communications and graduate certificate in grant writing from the University of Southern Maine.
Nora Gosselin | Market Development Acquisitions Specialist
Email: ngosselin@cdi.coop
Nora Gosselin joined CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program in 2019. As the Market Development and Acquisitions Specialist, Nora supports residents in manufactured housing communities across New England organize, establish cooperatives, navigate through commercial real estate transactions, access financing, and purchase their communities. Having worked with over 30 communities at various stages of the process, and completed over $50 million in transactions, Nora is deeply knowledgeable and experienced in the needs of residents, sellers, and state laws that regulate the sale and purchases of manufactured housing communities. Nora also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast, and previously lived in a multi-family housing cooperative, serving as co-op treasurer and housing coordinator.
Jason Brady | Regional Manager for CT, MA, and RI
Email: jbrady@cdi.coop
Jason Brady is the Regional Manager for CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. He supports staff across Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and fosters partnerships with community leaders, media and decision makers. He joined CDI as a Cooperative Housing Specialist in 2015 and over that time he has supported residents in transitioning their communities to resident ownership, assisted resident-owned communities with refinancing, secured state financing for infrastructure projects and developed community leaders.
Before joining CDI, Jason’s professional experience has included community organizing, coordinating direct contact activities for campaigns, and training for issue advocacy organizations supporting environmental and working family initiatives. He is also one of the founders of the Nickel City Housing Cooperative in Buffalo, NY.
Jason is a graduate of the University at Buffalo, SUNY
Chris Cervantes | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: ccervantes@cdi.coop
Chris Cervantes is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. Having worked in a variety of fields he has developed a deep appreciation for the power of collaboration. From instrument restoration to food trucks to custom carpentry, he has direct experience working alongside others; refining his approach to and understanding of cooperation to achieve greater goals. Now he is excited to apply his experience to participate in the development of a cooperative economy. Outside of work, Chris enjoys cycling, reading history, crafting and restoring furniture.
Thomas Choate | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: tchoate@cdi.coop
Thomas Choate serves resident-owned communities in central and southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Prior to joining CDI in 2016, Thomas spent a decade researching models for cooperative and green housing. As a side passion, Thomas has also pursued language intensives in Quetzaltenango (Guatemala), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Fes (Morocco), to investigate how language and place inform relationships and values around the built environment.
His professional work included time as a real estate research analyst, cob and straw bale and autoclave aerated concrete natural builder, carpenter, volunteer on regional cooperative initiatives in western North Carolina, volunteer bioremediation coordinator in post-Katrina New Orleans, and as a green “community first” real estate developer.
Thomas studied Latin American Political Economy & Social Movements and music at Southwestern University, and later received a masters in Urban Design and Real Estate from the University of Pennsylvania.
Based in Rhode Island, Thomas enjoys cooking, hiking, biking, gardening, traveling, and making music with his family.
Vanessa Gonzalez | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: vgonzalez@cdi.coop
Vanessa Gonzalez is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. Vanessa has a background in community engagement, collaborating with diverse communities, including teen parents, the LGBTQ+ community, individuals living with HIV, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Driven by a commitment to reproductive justice, public health, and advocacy, Vanessa is thrilled to channel their expertise toward fostering collaborations within communities, particularly in the realm of cooperative housing. Their passion for equitable, community-based solutions encourages them to create sustainable, inclusive living environments. Vanessa loves spending time with her dog Piña and taking long hikes in their spare time.
J Jasper | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: jjasper@cdi.coop
James H. Jasper III, called J, is a Cooperative Housing Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program, serving western Massachusetts. J’s first career was guiding students of all ages and abilities through wild outdoor experiences with Outward Bound schools and other educational institutions. Later, he worked with school leadership nationally to reform curricula toward experiential opportunities. More recently J coordinated a regenerative farming worker co-op which practiced sociocracy, a democratic governance system that emphasizes inclusive participation and consensus. J’s a beginning paragliding pilot, gets slower every year at racquetball, and falls for good dim sum and bad horror movies every time.
Emily Miller | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: emiller@cdi.coop
Emily Miller is a Cooperative Housing Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program, serving the state of Maine. Emily has worked in the non-profit world for almost ten years. Prior to joining CDI, she was a medical social worker for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. She also facilitated intervention programming for individuals convicted of domestic violence and criminalized survivors via a local domestic violence agency. Emily has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health and Sociology from the University of Houston. She is a certified personal trainer, yoga teacher and Pilates instructor. She lives with her wife in Southern Maine in a 100-year old cape with their three dogs and 100+ house plants.
Melissa Mullineaux | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: mmullineaux@cdi.coop
Melissa supports resident-owned communities in Maine, helping resident-owners to successfully run their communities as cooperatives. Prior to CDI, Melissa worked in Portland, Maine as a social worker for the eight years, working with communities and individuals struggling with homelessness, poverty, mental health issues and substance abuse. She earned her Master degree in Policy Planning and Management with a track in Sustainable Development and Geospatial Technologies and a graduate certificate in Community Planning and Development in May of 2016. While earning her graduate degree, Melissa remained working as a Cumberland County mental health emergency response crisis worker and did various work for the Association of State Wetland Managers in Windham, Maine and the Center for Business and Economic Development in Portland, Maine. Melissa received her Associates degree studying behavioral sciences through Granite State College and her BA in social work through the University of Southern Maine. Melissa has lived in Maine on and off for most of her life. She has a passion for equity for all and environmental issues. Melissa enjoys the outdoors and nature and spends much of her spare time with her friends and family.
Grace Pfeil | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: gpfeil@cdi.coop
Grace Pfeil (pronounced “File”) is a Cooperative Housing Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. She joined CDI in March 2024, and is excited to advise and support cooperatively owned manufactured home communities across Vermont. Grace comes to CDI with a diverse set of experiences. She has served as a staff person for local city councilors, worked on Vermont’s campaign for Just Cause Eviction in the Legislature, and helped organize a citizen led police oversight ballot initiative that was voted on by Burlington voters in 2022. Currently, she organizes with her local tenant union, Burlington Tenants United. Through these experiences, she has witnessed the power of collective community action, and the positive change we can achieve through cooperation. In her free time, Grace organizes block parties for her neighbors in Winooski and enjoys gardening and swimming in the Huntington river.
Emmy Tolzdorf | Cooperative Development Specialist
Email: etolzdorf@cdi.coop
Emmy Tolzdorf is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program, serving Central and Western MA. She brings to CDI experience working in youth-based programming, community partnership development, and small business management. She has consistently focused on identifying, addressing, and overcoming barriers to opportunity, especially for low-income and educationally disadvantaged individuals. She has developed working partnerships with state agencies, non-profit organizations, and private businesses and enjoys facilitating events within the communities she serves. Emmy received her BA from Clark University and attended Green Mountain College for her Masters in Resilient and Sustainable Communities, where she focused on the civic engagement of youth within the climate change movement. She spends her spare time fishing with her husband, cycling, and doting over a small flock of chickens.
